chrysler reported its best october since 2007 with a 10% increase. g.m. sales were up 5%, while ford's numbers increased not quite half a percent. wall street headed higher after new reports showed consumer confidence and manufacturing on the rise. the dow jones industrial average gained 136 points to close at 13,232. the nasdaq rose more than 42 points to close at 3,020. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> woodruff: after devoting the first half of the week to hurricane sandy and its aftermath, the president returned to the campaign trail today. with the election around the corner, mr. obama received a surprise endorsement. with the devastation of the megastorm consuming his attention, new york city mayor michael bloomberg surprised the political world today by endorsing president obama for re-election. in a statement, bloomberg said the hurricane's cost "in lost lives, lost homes and lost business brought the stakes of tuesday's presidential election into sharp relief." he credited mr. obama with taking major steps to reduce